Swinging for the Pennant

After 2,430 regular season games, two Wild Card game show downs and 15 total Division Series games, the 2016 MLB season comes down to four teams vying for two spots in the World Series.

With the National League and American League Championship Series underway, the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians all seek the elusive pennant.

The playoffs featured three-game sweeps by both the Blue Jays and the Indians, as well as series-winning comebacks by the Cubs and the Dodgers.

In the National League, the Cubs seek to end the longest championship drought in history, while the Dodgers look to compensate for years of postseason failures. In the American League, the Cleveland Indians hope to follow the Cavaliers’ example and deliver two championships to a long-starved city, while Toronto attempts to conjure some postseason magic and make it to the World Series after winning a do-or-die Wild Card game.

The playoffs already witnessed Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz’s final at-bat, Chicago’s four-run ninth inning to clinch the National League Division Series with the San Francisco Giants and a 10th inning series-winning push by Toronto. Fans have witnessed pitching battles and big hits – everything that one might hope for during postseason.

Who will be the last team standing when the dust settles in November? Either the Cubs will finally break the team’s curse, or the Dodgers will upend the squad’s dream. Either Toronto or Cleveland will be rewarded after waiting in anticipation for the final seven-game.

Dordt students can watch the ALCS on TBS and the NLCS on FS1. The 2016 World Series will air on FOX.